Woman Who Was Sexually Assaulted And Set On Fire In Wichita Park, Dies Of Her Injuries

The woman who was beaten, sexually assaulted and burned in a Wichita park just more than a week week ago, has died of her injuries, police say.

According to police Lt. James Espinoza, the woman died around 9:40 a.m. Saturday at a Wichita hospital.

The 36-year-old mother of four had suffered severe burns over more than half her body and had cuts on her head when firefighters found her November 14, naked in a park near the Wichita State University campus.

The suspect in the case, twenty-six-year-old Cornell A. McNeal, also of Wichita, was charged Friday with attempted capital murder, rape and arson. Lt. Espinoza says the charges against McNeal will now be amended to include murder.

McNeal is accused of raping, beating and setting on fire a 36-year-old woman who was walking in Fairmount Park, south of Wichita State University’s main campus, about 11 p.m. Nov. 14. He was booked into jail early Thursday on suspicion of rape and attempted first-degree murder after evidence collected by forensic nurses at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis linked him to the crime, according to police.

A fund has been set up to help pay medical bills incurred by the 36-year-old mother of four. Donations are being accepted to help with those bills and for the living expenses of her four children.